Thread holder for looms



Sept 18, `1945. H. A. wHlTlN THREAD HOLDER FOR LOOMS Filed Jan. 18, 1944 Patented Sept. 18, 1945 THREAD HOLDER Foa LooMs Herbert A. Whitin, Worcester, Mass., as'signor to Crompton & Knowles Loom Works, Worcester, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application January 18, 1944, Serial No. 518,702

Claims.

This invention relates' to weft replenishing looms and it is the general object of the invention to provide a self-adjusting thread holder fo-r weft ends so constructed as to accommodate itf self to the changing volume of the threads which it holds.

A well known type of loom thread holder employs a pair of driven gears which create a frictional drag on rthe weft ends between them. Because the gears have heretofore turned on fixed axes there has been difficulty in adjusting them to suit all operating conditions of the loo-m. Thus, if the gears are far enough apart to operate correctly on the ends of a full complement of bobbins in the magazine they will be too far apart to hold the threadsv properly when only a few bobbins remain, and if the gears are close enough to operate satisfactorily with a few bobbins they will then be too close for proper turning when the magazine is full of bobbins.

It is an important object of my invention to mount at least one of the gears in such a way as to permit relative movement of the gears toward each other as the volume of thread between them diminishes, thereby maintaining the correct frictional drag on the threads for all changes in the number of bobbins in the magazine.

In the preferred form of the invention the gears are driven by a vibration motor mounted on an arm extending from the magazine. It is a further object of the invention to support the movable gear in such a way that its correct relationship with respect to the driven gear will not be disturbed adversely by the vibration of the arm which operates the motor. This result is accomplished by a spring which is strong enough to causethe movable gear to swing back and forth with the vibrating support arm` but weak enough to yield for separation of the gears when a large volume of thread is placed between the gears.

It is ,found that looms do not all vibrate in the same way, due either to the floor on which they are supported, their speed, or the weight of the fabric beingl woven. It is another object of my invention to provide an adjustment for the spring which actson the movable gear permitting alterations in the thread holder while the loom is in operation, thereby permitting adaptation of the thread holder to the particular conditions under which it is used.

With these and other objects in View which will appear as the ldescription proceeds, my invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and set forth.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein a convenient embodiment of my invention is set forth, Fig. l is a front elevation of a portion of a loom having my improvedV thread holder applied thereto, l

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation of the thread holder looking in the direction of arrow 2, Fig, 1,

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on line 3-3, Fig. 2,y

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the thread holder as viewed from the center of the loom'with the guard plate removed, v

Fig. 5 is a vertical section on line 5 5, Fig. 4.-,

and

Figs. 6 and 'I are diagrammatic views showing the relation between the gearswhen the Volume of threads between them is small and large, re-

spectively.

Referring tolFig. 1, the loom frame lil supports a lay Il on which the shuttle S travels under the action of picking mechanism P. A stationary magazine M has reserve bobbins B from which weft ends T extend to the thread holder H mounted on an arm I2 extending from and secured to the magazine. During loom operation arm l2 Vibrates and the bobbins descend in the'magazine as replenishing operations occur for the removal of weft in shuttle S.

Holder H comprises a box-like housing having a vertical wall l5 and top and bottom walls I6 and l1, and rightand left side walls I8 and I9, respectively, see Fig. 4. Arm l2 is secured to wall I9 and 20 and is the means by which the holder is supported on the magazine. A weight 2l is suspended on at spring hangers 22V for free vibration and carries a spring feed pawl 23 to rotate a ratchet wheel 24 as the weight reciprocates. Ratchet 24 is secured to a stud or shaft 25 journaled on wall l5 and has secured thereto a driving thread engaging gearr'ff which turns clockwise as seen in Fig.l 2. A thread guard flange 21 on wall l5 extends partly over the teeth of gear 26. A stop screw 28 regulates the amount of swing of weight 2| as the holder vibrates, thereby determining the rate of movement of gear 26.

The matter thus far described is 01d and may be made as heretofore constructed by Payne, see for instance his Patent No. 1,842,731.

In carrying my invention into effect I secure a stud 35 to wall l5 and pivot thereon an upwardly extending link 36 having a bearing 31 in which rotates a stud or shaft 38. A second thread engaging gear 4U similar to gear 26 is secured to shaft 35.

tudinally. Rod 50 is threaded at 55 to receive' the threaded hub 55 of an arm 5I withinfthe holder. Located between arm 51 and link is a light compression spring 58 normally under compression and urging link 36 toward kshaft 25. By turning nut 5l the arm 51 can be moved toward or from link 36 to increase or lessen the force with which spring 58 urges gear S0 toward gear 26. The threads T are crimped by the gear teeth and are the means by which gear drives gear 4G. Turning of the gears keeps the thread T taut, and thereby assists in threading the shuttle at the time of its replenishment. The usual cover or guard plate 60, omitted in Fig. 4 but shown in Fig. 5, cooperates with the broadened foot 6l of arm 51 to require the arm 51 to move along rod 5i! as the latter is turned.

When the magazine is full of bobbins, see Fig. 7, there is a considerable volume of threads T which spread the gears apart and spring 5S is under relatively high compression to permit link 36 to swing toward arm 5l.v As successive transfers occur the number of bobbins and therefore the volume of threads decreases and spring '58 acts to move gear 40 toward gear 2S, see Fig. 6, thereby maintaining proper tension on the threads for transfer conditions. It is obvious that nut 5I permits manual adjustment of the force exerted by spring 58 during depletion of the magazine, but this is not ordinarily necessary, since the spring is self-adjusting.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a simple self-adjusting thread holder which compensates for the reducing volume of the threads T as the magazine becomes depleted of bobbins. It will also be noted that the force exerted by spring 58 can be varied during loom operation by manipulation of knurled nut 5I. Furthermore, the spring 5B is strong enough to prevent gear 40 from swinging away from gear 26 during the normal vibration of the thread holder, but will yield when fresh bobbins are put into the magazine andthe volume of threads T increases. n

Having thus described my invention it will be seen that changes and modications may beV made therein by thoseskilled in the art without departingy from the spirit and scope of the invention and I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

1. In a thread holder for the weft ends of a weft replenishing mechanism having a thread holder support, a thread engaging gear rotatable about an aXis fixed relatively to the support, means acting during loom operation to rotate said gear, a link pivotally mounted on said support, a second thread engaging gear rotatable on said link, the weft ends being between said gears and frictionally engaged thereby, and resilient means acting on said link and operative to move the second gear bodily toward the rst gear as the volume of weft ends between said gears diminishes.

2. In a thread holder for the weft ends of a weft replenishing mechanism having a thread holder support, a thread engaging member rotating during loom operation about an axis fixed relatively to the support, a second thread engaging member, a link on which said second member is rotatably mounted, said link being pivotally mounted on said support and said second memvber being movable with said link bodily toward resilient means operatively interposed between said support and said link operative to move the second member toward the rst member as the volume of weft ends between said members diminishes.

3. In a loom weft end holder having' a support, a pair of rotating members on the support frictionally engaging weft ends between them and mounted on the support for relative movement of their axes toward each other, a rod rotatably vmounted on said support, means moving along said rod as the latter rotates, and a spring operatively interposed between said means and one of said rotating'members tending to ca use relative movement of said members toward each other as the volume of weft ends between said rotating members diminishes.

4. In a loom weft end holder having a supporty a pair of rotating members on the support frictionally engaging weft ends between them and mounted on the support for relative movement bodily toward each other, a rod rotatably mounted on said support and having a screw threaded portion, an arm having a screw threaded part engaging the said screw threaded' portion and caused to move relatively to the support by rotation of said rod, and a spring operatively interposed between said arm and` one of said rotating members tending to cause said members tomove bodily toward each other as the volume of weft ends between said member diminishes, the position of said arm determining the force exerted by said spring tending to cause said relative movement of said members.

5. In a loom weft end thread holder having a housingincluding spaced walls, a pair of thread engaging members mounted on the housing for relative movement bodily toward each other to engage the weft ends between them, means to move said members to tighten the weft ends between them, means between said walls mounting said second member for movement bodily thereof toward the first member, a rod rotatably mounted in the housing, an arm operatively connected to the rod and located between said walls and moved within the housing due to turning of said rod, and a spring operatively related to said arm and tending to cause relative bodily movement of said members toward each other, one of said walls guiding said arm as the latter is moved due to turning of said rod.

HERBERT A. WHITIN. 

